1. Institute for the Social Sciences 2006-2009 Theme Project “Contentious Knowledge: Science, Social Science, and Social Movements” Team Leaders: Ron Herring and Ken Roberts

3. Bolivia’s “Water War”

6. Fault Lines Between Two Literatures Sociology of Knowledge and Science Studies Social Movements and Contentious Politics

7. Constructing Authoritative Knowledge Which scientists or scientific bodies qualify as “experts”? What scientific evidence is recognized as authoritative, and who adjudicates scientific disputes when the experts disagree? Once a scientific consensus emerges, how does this get translated into public policy initiatives when “settled knowledge” clashes with the political or economic interests (or the cultural values) of other societal actors?

8. Political Uses of Authoritative Knowledge Evaluating and selecting between policy alternatives in the decision-making process Persuading other actors Legitimating policy choices in public opinion Rising above partisan or ideological disputes Insulating decision-makers from mass democratic pressures

9. Constituting Expertise as a Political Strategy “Depoliticizing” contentious issues: shifting issues from bargaining arena to technical knowledge -- Expert commissions to offer advice -- Technocratic management of policy -- There are no protests around conventions of air-traffic control, nor demands for popular participation and the priority of local knowledge; technical expertise is widely accepted as legitimate in this domain.

10. Contesting Authoritative Knowledge “On the Ground” “Gap” between expert knowledge and popular sentiments often leads to social protest and political mobilization Two key issues: -- How does local resistance get transformed into larger social movements that challenge national policymakers (issue framing, tactical diffusion, political brokers, coalition-building strategies) -- How do social movements create “feedback effects” that modify public policies or political institutions?

11. Contentious Knowledge Team Members Maria Lorena Cook (School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Comparative and International Labor) Durba Ghosh (History) Rebecca Givan (School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Collective Bargaining and Comparative and International Labor) Ron Herring (Government) Stephen Hilgartner (Science and Technology Studies) Ken Roberts (Government) Sarah Soule (Sociology) Janice Thies (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Soil Biology and Ecology)

12. Post-Doctoral Fellows Thomas Medvetz, University of California, Berkeley, Sociology Kyoko Sato, Princeton University, Sociology Susan Spronk, York University, Political Science (visiting affiliate)

13. Feedback Loops: The Impact of Social Movements Social movements often follow cycles of protest and political mobilization Peak periods of mobilization may create political pressure, crises, or “critical junctures” that are conducive to political change -- Public Policy -- Political Institutions

14. Policy Effects Policy innovation: adoption of new policies (such as the landmark environmental legislation of the 1970s) Policy change: modify existing policies (like water privatization in Bolivia) Redefine the policymaking agenda (subtle shifts in the political debate over climate change as the scientific community moves towards closure)

16. Mechanisms of Policy Change Social movements can: -- fracture elite/technocratic consensus -- place new issues on the agenda -- place new actors at the bargaining table -- alter the balance of power between political actors

17. Impact on Political Institutions “New Institutionalism” in the social sciences– emphasis on how political institutions and formal rules shape political and economic behavior Reversing the causal arrow: explaining institutions and institutional change -- What are the origins of institutions? -- Whose interests do they serve? -- And how do they change over time?

18. Social Movements and Institutional Change Social protest may induce governments to create new regulatory regimes -- Cartagena Protocol on genetically modified organisms -- Environmental and labor provisions in NAFTA and other trade accords

19. Social movements may seek institutionalized representation in formal political arenas– i.e., moving from “protest” to “platform” -- lobbying government agencies -- participating in election campaigns -- forming or creating linkages to political parties -- entering government

20. But there is tremendous variation in the success of social movements in entering the arena of institutionalized politics -- Some movements fear loss of political autonomy -- Institutional politics can prove divisive -- Latin American protests against the “Washington Consensus”: very different patterns of success in translating labor, indigenous, and community activism into a unified political movement

21. Bolivian President Evo Morales: From Social Movement to State Power

22. But tension between institutionalized representation and movement authenticity -- Social movements can pressure a government or even overthrow it– but can they form a government and administer state power? -- At what point do they cease to be a movement?